Download Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders
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People who experience a panic attack often think they
are having a heart attack.
The same drugs used to treat schizophrenia are also
used to control panic attacks.
Some people are so fearful of leaving their homes that
they are unable to venture outside even to mail a letter.
We may be genetically predisposed to acquire fears of
objects that posed a danger to ancestral humans.
Therapists have used virtual reality to help people
overcome phobias.
Obsessional thinking helps relieve anxiety.
Exposure to combat is the most common trauma linked
to posttraumatic stress disorder.
Introduction

Anxiety: an emotional
state characterized by
physiological arousal,
unpleasant feelings of
tension, and a sense of
apprehension or
foreboding.

Anxiety Disorder: a class
of psychological disorders
characterized by
excessive or maladaptive
anxiety reactions.
Classes of Anxiety Disorders:
 Panic Disorder
 Phobic Disorders
 Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
 Generalized Anxiety
Disorder
 Acute Stress Disorder
 Post-traumatic Stress
Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Characterized by general feelings of dread and
foreboding and heightened states of bodily
arousal that are not triggered by any specific
object, situation, or activity.
 “Worrying about Worrying”
 Emotional distress caused by worrying about
everyday, minor things, and about unlikely future
events interferes significantly with the person’s
daily life.
 Treatment: drug therapy** and cognitivebehavioral therapy
Panic Disorders

Characterized by the occurrence of repeated,
unexpected panic attacks.
 Panic attack: intense anxiety reactions
accompanied by physical symptoms such as a
pounding heart, rapid respiration, heavy
perspiration, numbness, chills, weakness or
dizziness.
 Patient may experience feelings of strangeness
or unreality about their surroundings, fear of
losing control, fear of sudden death, or
detachment from himself.
 Treatment: drug therapy (usually antidepressants as they normalize neurotransmitter
activity) and cognitive-behavioral therapy
Phobic Disorders

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An intense and irrational fear
of a particular object or
situation.
Specific phobia: phobia of a
specific thing or situation
(acrophobia, nyctophobia)
Social phobia: fear that one
will embarrass oneself in
public
Agoraphobia: fear of places
and situations from which it
might be difficult or
embarrassing to escape in the
event of a panic attack.
Treatment: typically involves
providing the person
opportunities to experience the
feared object under conditions
in which he or she feels safe
and in control.
Specific Phobia Examples:
 Acerophobia: fear of itching or the
insects that cause itching
 Acrophobia: fear of heights
 Aerophobia: fear of flying
 Atelophobia: fear of imperfection
 Catagelophobia: fear of being ridiculed
 Claustrophobia: fear of closed spaces
 Entomophobia: fear of insects
 Felinophobia: fear of cats
 Heliophobia: fear of the sun
 Hemophobia: fear of blood
 Hydrophobia: fear of water
 Logizomechanophobia: fear of
computers
 Nosocomephobia: fear of hospitals
 Nyctophobia: fear of darkness
 Verminophobia: fear of germs
 Zoophobia: fear of animals
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder

A type of anxiety disorder characterized by
recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both.
 Obsession: a recurring thought or image that the
individual cannot control
 Compulsion: a repetitive or ritualistic behavior
that the person feels compelled to perform

Treatment: behavior therapy, specifically
exposure with response prevention
Adjustment Disorders

Acute Stress Disorder (ASD): a traumatic stress reaction
occurring during the month following exposure to a
traumatic event.

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
Walking around “in a fog” for days or weeks after a hurricane.
Forgetting important features of an accident and feeling numb or
detached from your environment.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): a prolonged
maladaptive reaction to a traumatic experience. Can
persist for months, years, or even decades and may not
be immediately apparent.
 Treatment: cognitive-behavioral therapy (repeated
exposure to cues and emotions associated with the
trauma in a safe setting)